POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemPOSCO (NYSE:PKX – Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 633,694 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the March 31st total of 761,162 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 177,078 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PKX shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of POSCO from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of POSCO from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of POSCO from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.
Read Our Latest Report on POSCO
Hedge Funds Weigh In On POSCO
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PKX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of POSCO in the third quarter valued at about $8,851,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in POSCO during the fourth quarter worth about $9,223,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in POSCO by 57.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 423,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,117,000 after acquiring an additional 154,100 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in POSCO by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 199,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,637,000 after acquiring an additional 115,069 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in POSCO by 14.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 549,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,051,000 after acquiring an additional 68,104 shares during the period.
POSCO Stock Performance
NYSE PKX traded down $0.77 on Friday, hitting $78.63. 160,296 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.14 and its 200 day moving average is $58.46. POSCO has a 52 week low of $42.35 and a 52 week high of $80.15. The company has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 59.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.58.
POSCO (NYSE:PKX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($1.06). The company had revenue of $10.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.85 billion. POSCO had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 1.35%. Research analysts anticipate that POSCO will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.
POSCO Company Profile
POSCO (NYSE: PKX) is a South Korea–based integrated steel producer founded in 1968 as Pohang Iron and Steel Company. Headquartered in Pohang, the company grew rapidly as part of South Korea’s industrialization program and developed large, integrated steelworks—most notably in Pohang and Gwangyang—that helped establish POSCO among the world’s largest steelmakers. It is structured as a diversified industrial group with steelmaking at its core and a range of downstream and trading businesses.
The company’s primary activities include ironmaking and steelmaking, producing a wide array of steel products such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets, coated steels, plates, stainless and special steels, long products (bars and wire rods), and seamless pipes.